Where the Astral Garden Ends
by Jirubee
Summary: Spoilers: Set several years after the Last Jedi. Rey masquerades as a bounty hunter after her base is attacked by the First Order. The only person missing is Kylo Ren, and she sets out to find him after their bond has been severed. Trying to unravel his fate, she learns more about herself. Reylo trash.


A vibrantly colored pulse ricocheted through Rey as she gripped to the wall beside her. It was sore in the areas it passed through her, and she gasped at the sensation. Looking down at her callused hand, she saw the taut scarring on her fingers.

She frowned at it as the feeling that startled her began to fade as she brought her attention to the dim red glow of the lights above her. The hallway was dismal, dripping with humidity as she continued to navigate through the maze. The sensation came ans went as a reminder of something she couldn't shake, and it was pushed to the back of her mind.

It still was not as jarring as the collapser Resistance Base that she could still easily feel her way around. The dilapidated building was dark, cold and smelled of musty decay, which was the most off putting part about it.

She couldn't recall the name of the planet they had escaped to, but it was full of life - something she had grown accustomed to over time. The girl imprinted on the creatures that peeked into her vision, and she could see their scales sluggishly pulling against the muddy earth.

The distance between them was partitioned by a barrier wrapped in worn metal that once elegantly detailed. It looked as though it was older than the Republic buildings she had encountered further inland.

In the years since she had left Jakku, the galaxy in which she inhabited had been unreasonably calm. The Force was merely a flicker in her bones at the thought and she scowled deeply, wearing a heavy line on her brow.

Since the death of Snoke, and the balancing act of Luke Skywalker and his last stand, there had been a teetering balance that swayed equivocially in the atmosphere.

She couldn't place the sensation of it, but it wasn't a hope she held on to. Her feet were grounded by the darkness threading in her subconscious that _something_ had been brewing.

A shudder tore through her as she thought of the sleek, red room in which she was presented to the Supreme Leader and the events that circulated through her bones thereafter.

A deep exhalation expunged her memory into the air and she wished it away. The hurt left over in her heart did not define her, nor did it make her privy to the notion that she was weak for feeling such a thing.

Idly, Rey found a throng of familiar faces, bracing themselves against beaten ships and junkyard parts as they rebuilt. They looked to her as the General, taking place of Leia as she passed some months ago.

It was a role too big for her shoes, and she did not want the weight of it to bury her. It wasn't something she was good at. She was a fighter, a wild card in a predetermined destiny that she was hiding from.

Rey had learned a lot about not only herself, but the Force itself through the stolen books and the thrum of failure that made oceans out of rivers inside of her.

Her companions, some new with flush freckled faces and a lustful outlook on their cause, had looked at her with such hope as she had passed by. Her innocent face had wilted, carving out more womanly features and darkened her skin with the time she spent in the warmth of the humidity drenched atmosphere.

She envied them, flickering a minute rivulet of darkness through her. There were so many eyes upon her, watching her every move, that it made her almost long for the solitude of Jakku.

Poe, in particular, had watched her with hungry eyes and spent many moons chasing her. She had given in only once to his whims, and thought better of it. The tumult of their relationship was something she neither wanted, or could use as distraction.

That in itself was a feat, as she had slowly lost her connection to Ben. It had faded into nothing more than impulsive glimmers of feelings and colors that came and went in plumes. She didn't think they were special. She had not seen his face for nearly a year and often wondered in the quiet of her head if he thought of her.

Compartmentalizing that part of her was a practiced art. Before his mother died, Rey had seen him and soothed him for a brief moment of mercy on her part, and left it behind her.

 _It was better that way,_ the girl frowned, puckering her lips. She had no one to answer to but herself.

And in that, the woman grabbed a shoddy bag from the damp busted tile and took her tools abroad the Falcon - which she stationed at the entrance of the base.

Inside, she clamored around searching for blankets and a magnifier to see better in the low light.

Hunkering down, she flipped open the bag and removed a crude diagram of a saber and set out to finish her masterpiece.

She dissected pieces of smooth metal and made crude amalgams of what they were once used for, cutting and prying for days on end to fine tune the machine.

The headpiece made her feel like the scavenger she was, and she leaned in to scrutinize her work. The midsection was long and rigid, like a spine as she whittled it down with a small torch.

The sparks kicked back at her exposed face, dirtying it with flecks of ash. She held her breath when she pried a part the core and took a deep breath. All of her laborious efforts had come to fruition and it was time.

The saber that once belonged to Anakin was no more, but there were pieces fitted along the shaft and she looked at it in awe. The kyber crystals in her satchel needed to be placed carefully into their new home and she steeled herself.

Delicately, Rey pulled one out and connected it to the conductor and settled down on her stomach to get as close as she could. Her tongue slipped out of her lip in concentration as she finnessed it into place.

She held her breath as the crystal that she had stolen from Anakin's saber made its peace. Leia had given her one sliver of her own that she wore upon a ring for the other half. Rey had guarded it and became nervous as she fitted it into the opposing side, not fully aware of it's power or capacity.

Closing her eyes, she embraced the moment she had longed for as she encapsulated the crystals together. After sealing the small opening, she steadied herself on her knees.

Looking down at her newly constructed lightsaber, the girl felt intensely powerful and relieved that it had finally been completed. She looked at it in awe. Her revelry began as an act of tearful expression and ended with the blade thrown into her sack.

She left the heap of tools sitting on the floor as she bolted off of the Falcon. In the base, Finn watched her curiously as she breezed bye, flipping the switch to release herself into the wilds of the lush planet.

Her small feet carried her over the green hills, leading her into a clearing some distance away as night began to fall. Her lungs burned at the sensation and she slumped down dumping the sack haphazardly.

The device hit the dewy grass with a heavy thud. Rey looked around briefly, only finding a few misshapen creatures lurking about. Reaching with the Force, it met her bare hand and she delightedly stepped foot to foot.

All of the time she had spent attuning the crystals would hopefully pay off, she grinned joyously. There was a playfulness to the way it felt to swing the hilt before igniting the saber. A familiar pale blue glow hummed as she rolled her thumb over the control. She swayed with it, listening to the symphony it sang for her.

Eagerly, her dark eyes darted towards the secondary switch. A quick flick, and the secondary side sputtered in instability, more so than Kylo Ren's had.

She furrowed her brow as she shook the saber, "What in the kriffing hell?" The girl muttered, holding the saber as she did her bowstaff.

The blade spewed black and her heart sank. It was even in length, but did not hold the smoothness of Anakin's crystal. The plasma stammered on, wheezing slightly.

Rey involuntarily huffed, and dislodged the hilt in the center with a quick turn. In her left hand, the darker blade weighed heavily on her. She swung it side to side, hearing a groan of it's thick internal structure.

Above, the night began to roll a blanket of darkness across the valley. Punctures of white strewn in the distance, indicating the dangers of the planet would soon begin crawling outward.

Rey felt an unease as she powered down her weapon and reconnected each side to the main hilt. Grabbing her bag, a revolting feeling seized her.

A plume of hot hair spilled around her, flattening the blades of grass and bending the foliage. She didn't feel _him._ It couldn't have been the First Order? She questioned herself.

They had been meticulous about their masking programs, hiding their locations in subterrainian tunnels and behind barriers.

Closing her eyes, Rey delved deep searching for the remaining flickers of Ben. She sought the soft beading of his aura, and found no response.

Panic caught the girl as she reopened her eyes to find the ship had ruptured the barrier and scuttled across the plain as though it was an injured bird.

It looked familiar, but not enough so to appease her senses. Rey began to dart back to the base, running harder than she imagined possible.

 _This_ was the dreadful feeling she had.

Someone was coming for them and the calm during the war was over.

By the time she has reached the base, Poe had already armed himself and stood against the port. More ships, all rusted buckets of bolts, in war formation, steadied themselves for landing.

Rey panted as she stalled in front of him - hands finding their way to his shoulders. She looked up at him, searching for any inkling of knowledge that she didn't know.

Poe gripped to his blaster and shrugged her off of his blaster padding. "These are Mandalorian ships, sweetheart." He said bouncing on his feet with readiness. "You go get the others in the Wings. We're gonna have to fight like hell tonight."

Rey looked past his surly facade and cool machismo that someone she at one time found attractive. "We can do this, I know it." She said softly, catching her breath as she slammed her fist down on the ejector. It tore down the stolen technological barrier and revealed the vessels inside. Finn stood to the side, harnessing his blaster and his own shock-baton.

He still plunked a helmet over his face, hiding a tributary of scars he had received during a skirmish. He smiled at the girl weakly, "Rey! Do you want your own ship or are you on ground?"

Rey looked at the young pilots and shook her head, "I'll take ground. Can you fly for me?"

Finn embraced her in a hug, a familial tradition before any good battle. It was for luck. And he rushed to his A-wing.

As soon as he took off, the sound of blaster bolts careened through the entrance of their base. Rey didn't hesitate to channel the Force and feel herself pulling deeply into its arms. Her eyes were fire, ignited like the flames bursting around her base.

Poe had run straight into the line of fire, as he always did. Cockiness seemed to never dry him out and it showed. The masked beasts clamoring over the hill wasted no time spraying their plasma beams across the clearing.

Rey heard the sounds of metal armor being punctured and ships imploding on impact. There weren't many, but there were not many of the Resistance Fighters, either.

Each protruding helmet looked menacing in the darkness that slithered over them. Rey ignited her unstable saber and illuminated the night.

The fear in the air was palpable as all parties stood in silence, yielding to her. The differential colors glowed in unison as she placed her hands in the center.

Poe turned to see the blackened plasma cloud her features as sweat bleached his vision, making her seem like a blur.

The bounty hunters mangled voices sounded in trepidation as their hypnosis ended. A crooked smile crept along the woman's lips as she lunged forward, wildly swinging the saber in serpentine patterns.

Limbs hit the ground with fleshy thuds. The smell was putrid, sending rivulet of partially cartarized vessels oozing on the ground.

The woman preferred to fight on her own accord rather than run or use the Force itself. She had grown accustomed to the thrill and adrenaline of taking down her own prey.

Each side of the lightsaber sang in tune with her motions, that became dance like and freeing.

Blood slathered along her face as armor pieces scorched and melded with the wearers skin until none were left.

The girl ran past her companions straight for a landed ship that looked smooth, and littered with flecks of minerals and crystal outer layers.

It was then she saw a face that she knew well. The hollow, sharp cheeks of a man that looked ghastly as a Spector.

His red, fiery hair gleaned in the bright white light of the ramp. She ducked behind some foliage and listened to his hauntingly cold voice. Beside her lay the body of a Mandolorian bounty hunter, and she scowled.

Her mind, despite the intoxicating pull and push of the Force inside of her, searched for Ben. If Hux was here surely Kylo wouldn't be far behind. Eagerly, she tuned into the back of the man's mind. He twitched and fought it, as she coaxed out an important fact.

A fact that she, herself, could feel but not see entirely. She scanned the terrain for her companions, but did not see them. Reaching down, she removed the dead man's helmet.

There was no feeling or vision of Kylo. And it seemed far stretched that he would not arrive where she was, or at least so she thought.

Most of the Mandolorians were either disarmed and captured or dead. And it seemed that Hux had sent them on a charter.

She feared for the safety of her base and drew in a deep breath. The First Order troops that began littering the landscape were searching for something or someone. A couple of bounty hunters from the far rim sat along the ramp in wait.

And in Rey's mind, giving herself up to unravel a mystery was her forte. She took a deep breath and looked down at the empty face of the man she had killed. He was young and it made her stomach knot bathing in his hollowness. It was the price of war and it pained her as she stripped him down, stealing his armor.

She rolled amongst the grass slipping out of her own clothing and into his black and silver metals. His helmet was heavy, with a giant crack from the center to breathing apparatus. Splotches of gold flittered around the eyepiece and she adjusted.

She grabbed his gloves and his blaster and satchel of money. She was a scavenger after all, and it had come in handy during the tumult.

The crude lightsaber ended up tucked inside of the breast plate, leaving spare room for her small frame. Looking behind her, she searched for Poe, or Finn, or the girl they had just recruited.

With the violence dying, she knew that they were safe. She could _feel_ them. General Hux had commanded that his soldiers scan the parameters for any signs of life. He knew that the base was there, he just hasn't known where it was hidden and Rey was going to make sure that he never found out.

She also knew that whatever had blocked Ben from her so abruptly was waiting for her somewhere in the great expanse. With a deep sigh, she fell into the hum of the universe and found the strength in herself to saunter forward with great confidence.

The blaster that crossed her chest, held the same beating as her rapturous heart. The troopers seemed to ignore her as General Hux snuffed his nose as she raised her head in acknowledgement to the other hunters on the ramp.

Once inside, she was enveloped by the fear that permeated on the vessel that would lead her to her destination. She just had to wait as she leaned against the wall of the ship, Rey searched deep within herself feeling for the creature she was hoping to find.

 _Something isn't right, Ben. I don't know where you are or what has happened, but please show me where you are._

It was then that the darkness inside of her rose, and her stomach twisted in agony as she listened to the voices around her. She should not still care about this man. She should have stayed behind on the base, she fretted.

Yet, she knew that there was something far greater than her that had punctured the night.

 **AN: Please go easy on me as I've never really written a story quite like this. I needed a good starting point and this seemed like a good beginning. Rating will most likely change further in (because Reylo trash isn't for the faint of heart)! R &R please. **


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